The invention relates to a roof trunk with a preferably clam-shell-like lid which is hinged to a likewise clamshell-like trunk body and which can be locked in its closed position by a plurality of latches disposed on a longitudinally displaceable locking rod and engaging stationary catches.
In conventional roof trunks of the kind described above, the hinging of the lid to the body is provided on one of the longitudinal sides that run along the roof of the vehicle parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car. The latches are disposed on the opposite longitudinal side and so, accordingly, is the lock that controls them.
This arrangement has the disadvantage, among others, that the roof trunk can be loaded only from one side.
The invention is therefore addressed to the problem of designing a roof trunk such that it will be conveniently accessible from both sides when open, while simultaneously providing great security against theft when locked.
To solve this problem, provision is made according to the invention for the lid to be hinged to the trunk body on one of its short sides and for it to be fastenable to the trunk body on both longitudinal sides by a plurality of catches disposed at intervals, and for the locking rods on the two longitudinal sides to be connected by corner-turning means to a common actuating means.
On account of the configuration in accordance with the invention, when the lid is opened the trunk body is accessible from the two longitudinal sides and the other side, so that the roof trunk can be loaded and unloaded much more easily. Likewise the multiple latching in each of the longitudinal sides provides an especially secure lock, which can still be released by a manual operation the same as in the past, due to the linking together of the two locking rods.
Although the actuating mechanism could also be disposed in one of the side walls, especially the free short side of the trunk body, as is common in the roof trunks known heretofore, a further development of the invention has proven to be especially desirable in which the actuating mechanism includes a folding handle disposed under the bottom of the trunk body in the area of the short side opposite the hinge side of the lid, the shaft of the handle passing sealingly through the bottom and bearing a rocking lever to whose extremities transverse links are articulated which are connected each by a rotatably mounted bell crank to one of the lock rods.
Through this arrangement of the handle under the bottom of the roof trunk a large, easily operated handle can be provided and the locking does not have to be performed, as in the roof trunks known heretofore, by means of the small safety key whose rotary movement results in the displacement of the lock rod. Disposing the handle on the bottom makes it more easily accessible than if it were to be disposed on the short side, and finally it also becomes advantageously possible to swing the handle away so as to be almost invisible when in the normal nonworking position because it is linked pivotingly to the shaft so that it can be swung back and forth between a working position aligned with the shaft and a lockable non-working position folded against the trunk bottom.
An especially good locking action is achieved in further development of the invention if the latches are pins engaging hooks in the lid and riveted onto the locking rods, and, to prevent damage to the articles contained in the trunk and reduce the danger of injury when loading and unloading, guards opening upward and toward the narrow sides are to be fastened at the longitudinal inner sides of hte trunk body, to accommodate the hooks on the lid as well as the pins when the trunk is closed.
Other advantages, features and details of the invention will be found in the following description of an embodiment and in the accompanying drawings.